Which wine to serve with caponata?

Before we get into which wine is best served with this dish, lets take a look at what kind of dish caponata actually is.
Shortly stated caponata is the Sicilian version of the French ratatouille dish. It was created in old bars along the coastal line in order to feed the fishermen coming back from their work on the boats. Back in in the day it was served with hardtack, a dense cracker made of flour and salt. Today you can find caponata served in every trattoria, but with a lot more elegance and style than what it used to be.

Some of the main ingredients are eggplant, tomato, celery, capers and green olives. Although lots of different versions exist, some even adding raisins, pine nuts, ricotta or carrots. It is usually served as an antipasto, or as a side dish to various meat and fish platters. In Palermo you can find it accompanied with octopus. Apart from that, the caponata can be enjoyed as a relish or salad as well.

Looking at wine matching it is important to consider what is served with the caponata and where in the menu the caponata will appear. Best served are of course the Sicilian wines, and that can be either white, red, rosato or even sparkling! Looking at these options, there is one region in Sicily that tackles all of them and will make your caponata a true feast, that is of course the wine from Etna DOC! Thanks to the volcanic soil, the grapes will display the smokiness and elegance in all their wines. The red one made of Nerello Mascalese still has those beautiful aromas of fresh red fruit and a lively acidity, which is key for matching with the caponata. The rosato will be made from the same grape and will display intense red summer fruit characters, whilst the white made of Caricante can add to the freshness and acidity the dish will display as well. The Nerello Mascalese sparkling will show aging notes on top of its acidity, allowing to blend with the richness of the eggplant.

Further for just the caponata you can look to the west and find crisp, yet rounder bodied wines made of Catarratto, Grillo or Inzolia. The red blend of Nero d’Avola and Frappato in the DOCG Cerasuolo di Vittoria will do the trick as well, as this blend leans more to the fresh fruitiness of the Frappato grape. Looking at the single blend of Nero d’Avola, a red meat component such as lamb will need to accompany the caponata.

Searching the rest of Southern Italy for matching wines, you will find that most of the region will be able to blend in beautifully with the different ingredients, of course depending on what will be served next to it. Served with seafood such as octopus, Greco and Falanghina will be its best friend. Swordfish sprinkled with lemon? Serve a fruity Sardinian Vermentino. A richer fish like tuna with a crunch of pistachio with the caponata? Think of a lighter, slightly chilled red Susumaniello from Puglia.

As you can read, a dish as rich in history like the caponata is very match-friendly with most of its southern Italian grape friends. It is an easy dish to make for yourself at home to, that can be really refreshing on a summer day! When you do make it yourself, know that the caponata will be at its best when it has rested in the fridge for a couple of days, allowing all the ingredients to intertwine into a perfect whole!